When it comes to business — not startups, but that other kind of business that you have a whole separate room in your house for — we need to talk about wipes. Wet wipes are great for your wash, but terrible for the environment. It turns out that not everyone likes dry mopping, but while bidets and smart toilets are on the rise, they’re usually pretty expensive.
For a few years, the startup Fohm had a solution: a specially formulated soap that can be dispensed onto toilet paper, turning them into wet wipes that can be safely flushed down the toilet. It sounds silly, maybe, but 50,000 customers can’t be wrong, right?
With a mission to provide an eco-friendly alternative to traditional wet wipes, Fohm, now rebranded as Saintly, is bringing up the rear (ahem) in an effort to tackle the environmental and infrastructure issues caused by wet-based wipes. microplastics. By introducing a foam-based cleaning solution, Fohm offered a new approach to personal hygiene that was both skin-friendly and environmentally friendly. The company tells TechCrunch it has prevented thousands of pounds of non-biodegradable waste from polluting waterways.
Fohm’s old design was pretty rudimentary, but the company claims to have sold more than 50,000 of them. The refreshed Saintly brings a more presentable product to the smallest room of the house. Image Credits: Fohm
In addition to the name change, the company has opened up existing customers to pre-orders for its new product, along with an announcement that the old product and parts will soon become available.
“As we embrace this new chapter, we will be phasing out support for the original Fohm distributor and its parts, focusing on bringing you the best with Saintly,” the company wrote in an email to existing customers, who saw the TechCrunch. The irony of claiming to be an environmental company but ceasing to offer replacement parts for an existing product, hauling it to the nearest landfill, is not lost on anyone.
“Our plan is to continue selling parts for the V1 distributor for the next 6-12 months if customers want to stock up. After that point, we will provide discounted offers to legacy customers to upgrade,” said Jerry Staub, co-founder of Saintly, in an interview with TechCrunch.
However, Saintly’s new product line represents a significant leap forward. The company says it’s improved its cleaning formulations, introducing a sleeker dispenser design, easier cartridge replacement, and other improvements, including a … phone case?
The Saintly Distribution Kit is $99 with a subscription or $109 as a one-time purchase. Refill packs are $36, which the company says works out to about 8 cents per use. The redesigned hardware and rebranding officially goes into effect on March 22.
